Jaws

With introduction by film reviewer & former host of Saturday Night at the Movies, Thom Ernst • A 40th anniversary treat

“Here it comes, looming back out of the water: Steven Spielberg's serial-killer masterpiece from 1975. It was adapted from Peter Benchley's filthier bestseller: a killer shark with the cunning of a U-boat commander is eating swimmers, and threatening to destroy the precarious prosperity of a US beach resort over the 4 July weekend. Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Scheider and Robert Shaw are the three glorious hombres of 70s Hollywood tracking down the shark, whose presence is signalled by John Williams's orchestral theme, the creepiest since Herrmann's Psycho. All have something to prove: Dreyfuss is oceanographer Hooper, a superbly natural, utterly real performance, who has to show he's man enough to take down the big fish. Scheider's police chief has to redeem himself after participating in a cover-up: he withheld information about the shark to protect tourism. And Shaw's grizzled seadog Quint is haunted by a chilling wartime memory. This is a suspense classic that leaves teeth-marks.” - The Guardian